Embossing tool



May 4, 1965 s u N 3,181,679

' EMBOSSING TOOL Filed Sept. 26, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

:8 ALEEQT Smaanmwv May 4, 1965 A. STUBBMANN EMBOSSING TOOL Filed Spt. 26, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 4, 1965 A. STUBBMANN 3,181,679

EMBOSSING TOOL Filed Sept. 26, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 l INVENTOR,

Azeser STUBBM/I/Y/Y y 1965 A. STUBBMANN 3,181,679

EMBOSSING TOOL Filed Sept. 26, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 61 b0 l lll l 54 0 5b 50 V 72 I iEllE.

United States Patent York Filed Sept. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 311,768 Claims. (Cl. 1976.7)

This invention relates to an embossing tool and, more particularly, to an embossing tool to aid young children in becoming familiar with printing.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved embossing tool which may be fruitfully used by youngsters both as a plaything and as an educational means to interest them in letters and numerals, and in the formation of words and sentences.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an embossing tool of the character described which is lightweight and portable, which is durable especially in the hands of children during prolonged periods of play, and which will yet carry out its function of impressing characters on a length of tape efficiently and steadfastly.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an embossing tool of the character described which will produce embossed tape bearing letters and numerals in the form of words, which tape may be readily and easily adhered to any surface in order, for example, to identify a childs playthings and possessions.

It is another object of this invention to provide an embossing tool of the character described which is simple 3 in operation so that a child may readily learn its proper manipulation and which, by virtue of its unique printing function, will fascinate and educate a child of tender years and which will thereby become a beloved plaything.

it is another object of this invention to provide an embossing tool of the character described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture, fast in assembly, and which will thereby provide a low-cost yet quality and educational toy for children.

Generally, it is desired to provide an embossing tool which will utilize a pressure sensitive tape as its character bearing medium so that, once imprinted, the tape may be adhered by simple hand pressure to any surface. The character to be imprinted should be easily observable and should be selected by the easy manual manipulation of a large knob. It is further desired that at least two lines of type may be printed, one above another, on the same piece of tape. The foregoing is to be accomplished by a structure which is particularly suited to be molded in a conventional plastic and which thereby may be produced at low cost but yet retain the foregoing desirable features.

These and various other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to the reader in the following description.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the device hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter frontal perspective view of an embossing tool made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embossing tool;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a more highly enlarged cross-sectional view of the forward portion of the tool as illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the carriage drive means, the same being taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

3,181,579 Patented May 4, 1965 ice FIG. 6 is a plan view of an embossed tape mounted on the tape carriage;

FIG. 7 is an exploded and cut-away perspective view of the character press assembly;

FIG. 8 is an exploded and cut-away perspective view of the character selection means;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the character wheel, associated gear works and embossing tape taken substantially along the line 99 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are greatly enlarged cross-sectional views taken substantially along the lines 10-10 and Iii1l, respectively, of FIG. 4;

PEG. 12 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary radial crosssectional View of the embossing die and anvil, with the embossing tape being impressed therebetween;

FIG. 13 is a cut-away view of the tape with characters embossed thereon; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 1414 of FIG. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 1% denotes an embossing tool constructed in accordance with the present invention. The embossing tool generally is lightweight and portable, and is constructed to be placed and operate on any convenient fiat surface, such as a desk.

The embossing tool iii includes a housing 12 which carries in and on it the several other components of the present invention. Said housing is roughly triangular in plan (see PEG. 2), the apex portion of the housing serving as a handle 14 by which the tool 10 can be carried, and the base portion of the housing serving as an operating head 16 to mount the working parts of the tool.

Said housing 12 includes a fiat, horizontal top wall 18, a dependent downwardly and outwardly extending front wall 20 adjacent the tool head 16, and dependent downwardly and outwardly extending side walls 22, 24 flanking the handle 14 and continuous with the front wall 20. The housing 12 is suitably formed, as by injection molding, from any conventional synthetic thermo plastic, eg a butadiene modified polystyrene having the characteristics of toughness, durability, and light weight. The other parts of the tool Iii are made from a similar material, as appropriate.

The bottom edges of the front Wall 24 and side walls 22, 24 form a continuous downwardly facing shoulder 26 which seats a flat bottom wall 28, which is fastened to the housing 12 by conventional means, e.g. an adhesive.

The head 16 of the housing 12 carries a press assembly 3%) having associated therewith character selection means 32, i.e. means for picking singular letters or numerals to be embossed. Said character selection means comprises a large diameter rotatably mounted dial 34 which is located externally to the housing 12 and over the head 16. The dial 34 is mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane, and rotates in a shallow well 35 in the top wall 18 adjacent the head 16. The dial has a downwardly and outwardly extending circular continuous side wall 36 which is vertically ribbed as at 38 and is of suffioient width to permit easy gripping and turning by the hand of a user of the tool.

The dial 34 has a central depressed hub 40 which protrudes through a central aperture 42 in the top wall 18 over the head 16 and in the center of the well 35. The outside diameter of the hub 40 is of substantially the same diameter as the aperture 42 so as to form a rotatable sliding fit between these parts.

The aperture 42 is encircled by a raised boss 44 the underside of which forms a downwardly opening circular shoulder 46 which seats the top edge of a cap 48. The shoulder 46 both locates the cap 48 and retains it internally of the head 16. The cap- 48 has four projects. downwardly from; the die 74.

. a 3 V V opposed lugs 50 protruding radially inWand-ly from its top edge, each of which is frictionally wedged into a different matching cut-out 52 in the portion of the side wall of the hub 4%, which protrudes through the boss 44. This frictional interengagement connect the dial 34 and the cap 49 for com mon rotation, and holds the.

dial 34 to the head 16. I a

A pinion 54 is carried bythe cap 48, and for this purpose the cap at its bottom has. four radiallyinwardly protruding opposed spaced segments 56 which mutually,

The Y pinion has radially projecting opposed ears 64 extending from the lip 62, which are received in small indenm 65 over two diametrically opposed segments 56, and which mechanically couple the cap 48 and the pinion 54 for common coaxial rotation.

Itwill thus be evident that, by virtue of the-foregoing structure'rotation of the dial 34 causes concurrent coaxial rotation of the pinion 54. a f

The pinion 54 meshes with a drive gear 68 which is both integral and co-axial with a character wheel '79 that is a part of the press assembly 30. embodiment of the invention, there is a 2:1 gear ratiobetwecn the drive gear 68 and the pinion 54.

The character wheel 70 comprises three disc-shaped I co-axial parts, to'wit, an anvil 72, a die '74 and a highly flexible wear plate 76.

The anvil 72 has a centnal hub 73 which protrudes into a central aperture 80. in the die 74. The hub '78 carries an external key 82 which mechanically engages a keyway 84 in the dies hubv 88. This engagement locks the anvil '72 to the die 74 for common rotation. The

In the illustrated.

exterior of the hub 78 may also be adhered tothe interior of the aperture 80 to firmly secure these parts to gether. The wear plate 76 has a central aperture 86 which loosely fits about the portion ofthehu'b 88 which The anvil .72

dents 111 that sequentially slidably engage anib 113 on the under side of the top waillSof the housing 12. The resiliency of them-aterial from which the nib 113 ,andthe anvil '72 are made permit rotation of the anvil through an angle between adjacent indents upon the application of slight manual force on the dial 34.v There is one indent 111 corresponding to each set of characters 108,114) and the nib indcxes' the cha'ractenset atza position consistent with the proper operation of the head 16.

The character select-ion means is arranged to permit a user of the-toolto observe a character corresponding to the character to be embossed. To this end, the upper face112 of; the anvil '72 has characters 114 imprinted thereon, which characters are in angular registry with the corresponding male and female character set 198, 1% ready for impression.- To-allow view of a selected imprinted character 114, a circular aperture 116 is pro- .vided inthe dial 34 in the hub 40, A magnifying lens,

113 is held between the dial 34 and, the pinion 54, the

lens being seated between facing shoulders, one on the.

interior ofthecircularlip 62 and the other on the underside of. the hub 40. The lens 118 is in ventical alignment with the aperture 116. The pinion 54; also has a central aperture 128, which is in vertical alignment with the lens 118 and the aperture 116. The two aforementioned apertures are located to allow direct view of the character 114 on the face 112 of the anvil 72 through the lens 118 and the center of the dial 34.. The lens 118 magnifies the character 114 for easier observation thereof. The bottom of the pinion 54 rests on the anvil 72 and thereby holds the dial raised slightly above the bottom of the well 35.

Ari-elongated substantially fiat carriage .122 is used to carry embossing tape 124 into the head 16and to hold it therein as the tape is embossedj The embossing tape 124 is conventional and consists of several laminated layers of different: materials. The top layer is a film of metal foil which is designed to re main intact when embossed, the next lower layer is a vinyl backing the upper surface of which is wholly concealed at all'times by the metal foil, and the next layer is, a pressure sensitive adhesive. A release coated'stripandthe die 74 are formedfrom a tough, resilient plastic such as nylon, and the wear plate '76 is suitably formed from thin acetate sheet. The anvil is thick enough to be stiff. a

horizontal plane byan elongated hollow rivet 90 which passes through a central aperture 92 formed by the hub '78 of the anvil 72. The rivet 90 has an upper enlarged head 94 which is seated in an aperture-d recess 96in the top wall 18 of the head 16. The rivet 90 passes through an aperture 102 in the crossbar 1030f a trunnion 104, later to be described, and the bottom head of.

the rivet is secured on. theunderside thereof. The character wheel 70 is spaced from the top wall 18, bya circular protrusion '98, which is integral with the top wall 18. I

The die 74 has numerous radially protruding spaced thin resilient spokes 106,.each spoke carryinga differ ent raised male character 108 on a radially outward, upwardly facing fiat portion. The chairacter 108 may be either aletter, a numeral or a punctuation mark.

The outer downwardly facing marginal portion of' therigid anvil .72 carries female characters 110 in relief, it being understood that the characters 1%, 110 are vertically aligned and of complementary size and The character wheel'70 is mounted for rotation in av pable layer of paper backing covers the pressure sensitive adhesive until it isdesired to expose the adhesive 5 as to adhere the tape to a surface.

Two spaced pillars'126, 128 project from the samelong edge of the carriage 122 adjacent opposite ends thereof. When the carriage 122 is placed into the head 16, the pillars are on the side nearest the handle '14. The pillars 126, 128 are transversely aligned and each is slightly longer, than the width of the embossing tape 124. Prior to insertion of the carriage 122 into the head 16, the paper backing is removed from a length of tape and the tape is f placed foil side upon thecarriage so that the terminal portions of adhesive .at its ends overlies and adheres to the pillars 126, 128 with the .tape 124' stretched therebetween; V

Two parallel grooves 130, 132 with center-to-center spacing slightly in excess of the height of an embossed characterrun the length of the carriage 122 on its upper surfaceand serve to guide the carriage, in its passage through thehead 16, as will be subsequently described. The grooves 130, 132 are nearer the edge of the carriage 122 from which the pillars 126, 128 project. The undersurface of the carriage 122. also has two parallel similarly spaced grooves 134,136, each of which is in vertical alignment with a different one of the grooves on the upper surface of this carriage.

. The. remainder of the top face of the carriage/122mb.- sents' an elongated flat area 138 by which the carriage 122- may be conveniently handled.

A part of this flat area 138 isdivided into two parallel rows of squares 139', each squarebeing outlined by low narrow ridges. One sideof the head -16 has a flat protrusion 141 which carries a square viewing aperture 143 similar in dimension to the squares 139. The aperture 143 can, as will be subsequently described, overlie either of the two rows of squares, and as the carriage 122 passes through the head 16, one square 139 after another can be observed through this aperture. The squares are provided with a matte finish to facilitate the inscription of characters thereon with a lead pencil. These characters can readily be removed with the aid of a rubber erasure and replaced with a fresh set of characters.

The underside of the flat area 138 is shaped to provide a rack 141), the teeth thereof being transversely disposed to the length of the carriage 122. The rack teeth run along the underside of the carriage between the inner sides of the pillars 126, 128.

The carriage 122 is in part guided through a horizontal shallow tunnel 144 in the head 16 by two flat platforms 146, 148 which are integral with the housing 12, each platform being disposed on an opposed side of the head 15. The platforms present broad parallel supports for the carriage 122 as it first enters and then subsequently passes through and finally leaves the tunnel 144, the larger platform 146 being for entry and the smaller platform 148 for exit. The tunnel 144 has two long guide rails which run the major length thereof, these constituting an upper guide rail 150 and a lower guide rail 152. The guide rails are integral with the housing 12, the upper rail being carried on the under surface of the well and the lower rail bridging the space between the platforms 146, 148. The guide rails are in vertical alignment and are spaced and dimensioned so as to engage either vertically aligned set of grooves in the carriage 122 (see FIG. 14). That is to say, the upper guide rail 15% snugly yet slidably fits into an upper groove or 132 and the lower guide rail 152 fits into an affiliated lower groove 134, or 136. The upper guide rail 151) is interrupted near the center of the head 16 so that it will not interfere with the other operational parts of the tool 11). The lower guide rail also runs along the entry platform 146.

The carriage is propelled by carriage drive means. To this end, a manually operable selective advancement mechanism 154 is rotatably mounted in the front wall 20 with a horizontal axis of rotation. The mechanism has a large knob 156 which is disposed externally to the wall 211 so as to be accessible to a hand of the user. The mechanism 154 further includes a shaft 158 which on one end is integral with the knob 156 and which extends horizontally into the head 16. Two unitary gears are fast to and constitute an extension of the shaft 158, one of these, the forward most, being a pinion 169 and the other a ratchet 162. The shaft 158 is supported by the front wall 21) and, internally of the head 16, by a rivet 164 which rotatably secures an end wall 166 of the hollow pinion 1611 to an internal wall 168 of the housing. One head of the rivet 164 is on the interior side of the end wall 166, the shaft 158 of the rivet passes through aligned apertures in the end wall 166 and in the internal wall 168, and the other head of the rivet 164 is disposed in a recess 170 in the internal wall 168.

The shaft 153 is mounted so that the pinion 164) meshes with the rack on the under surface of the carriage 122, when the carriage is inserted into the tunnel 144.

A leaf spring 172 has one end 174 riveted to an internal wall of the housing 12 and has the upturned tip of its other end 176 riding on the pinion (see FIG. 5). The leaf spring 172 is disposed and configured so that the pinion 161), and thus the knob 156, is unidirectional, i.e. rotatable only in one direction, counter-clockwise as shown in FIG. 5. The carriage 122 can thereby move in only one direction through the tunnel 144, from the entry platform 146 towards the exit platform 148.

An elongated lever 178 serves to actuate the embossing operation of the tool 10. The lever 178 is pivoted intermediate its ends by the trunnion 104. The trunnion has each of its depending arms 180, 182 disposed in an affiliated slot 184, 186 in the body of the lever 178 (see d FIG. 7). A pivot pin 188 passes horizontally through an aperture in one side wall 190 of the lever, through an aligned aperture in one arm 182 of the trunnion 104, through an aligned aperture in a center bar 122 of the lever, through an aligned aperture in the other trunnion arm 180 and finally through an aligned aperture in the other side Wall 194 of the lever 178. This arrangement allows the lever to rock about the pivot pin 188 in a vertical plane. Numerous internal transverse supporting ribs 196 rigidify the lever 17 8.

The rear portion of the lever 178 has an upward offset 198 that protrudes upwardly out of the housing 12 through the handle 14 and serves as a press bar which may be actuated, i.e. pressed and released, by a hand or" the user. An elongated slot 201) is situated in the rear of the top wall 18 and is dirnensioned so that the press bar 19$ can project therethrough. A stop 202 (see FIG. 3) on the underside of the press bar 198 strikes the under surface of the rear of the slot 206 and thereby prevents the press bar 198 from passing beyond this point through said slot.

Biasing means urges the rear of the lever 178 upwardly and, consequently, the forward portion of the lever downwardly. Said means includes an elongated compression coil spring 204 which has its upper end contained within a well 2116 formed in the lever by two adjacent transverse ribs 196. A stud 208 integral with the lever 178 noses into the top interior of the coil spring 204. The lower end of the coil spring 204 is telescoped about an up wardly facing stud 210 carried by a transverse rib 211 integral with the housing 12. The coil spring 2194 exerts upward force on the rear of the lever.

The lever 178 carries an upwardly extending presser foot 212 forward of the pivot 183. The presser foot 212 is so located that upon rotation of the press bar downwardly the foot moves upwardly, first abutting the flexible wear plate 76, and then through the wear plate striking any one spoke 106 in its upward path of travel. The presser foot 212 fiexes the spoke 106 upwardly toward the die 72, and thereby moves the male raised character 108 against the female recessed character 110 (see FIG. 12).

The forward end of the lever 178 mounts a pawl 214 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) which engages the ratchet 162, the latter being fast on the shaft 158. The pawl 214 is rotatably mounted as by a rivet 216 on the forward tip of the lever, and is urged by a wire spring 218 on the top of the lever, radially inwardly towards the axis of the ratchet 162. The pawl is disposed so that one depression and release of the press bar 198 will advance the ratchet one tooth in its sole permissive direction of rotation. The rotation of the ratchet 162 consequently rotates the pinion 160, which is meshed with the rack 140. The intermittent rotation of the ratchet 162 is thereby translated into intermittent linear advancement of the carriage.

The underside of the dial 34 has a set of equidistantly spaced radial indents 220 (see FIG. 4). A spring wire 222 has its middle length threaded through the hollow bore of the rivet 90. The wire 222 is connected by a rightangled bend 224 to its lower reach 226, which is substantially horizontally disposed and lies on top of the lever 178 forward of the pivot 188. The reach 226 is hooked about the base of the presser foot 212. When the forward portion of the lever 178 is urged downwardly, the bend 224 is spaced slightly below the lower head of the rivet 90. When the forward portion of the lever 178 is raised, the lower reach 226 is raised until the bend 224 contacts the head 100. This causes the wires upper tip 228 to enter one of the indents 220 vertically above it, thereby locking the dial 34 against further rotation while the press bar 198 is depressed. Any one indent 220 will be vertically aligned with, i.e. in the path of travel of, the tip 228, whenever the nib 113 engages any one of the indents 111 along the rim of the die 72.

Turning then to the operation of the tool, the embossing tape 124 is stretched between the pillars 126, 128

to a square.

on the tape carriage 122. The tape is placed with its metal foil side up and the ends of its underside adhering to the pillars. The paper backing strip 'has been removed. The carriage is inserted into the tunnel 144, with the guide rails 150, 152 engaging either vertical set of grooves 130, 134; 132, 136. The carriage is slid into the tunnel until the rack 140 engages the pinion 160. Previously a name,.title, multi-digit number, slogan or the like may have been inscribed on the squares 139, one character v in turn causes rotation of the, character wheel 70. The

character which will be embossed can be observed through the central aperture 116 inthe dial 34.

At this point the tape, which is suspended between the carriage pillars 126, 128 is located in the space be.

tween the anvil 72 and the die 74 (see FIG. 3). During the selection of a character the lever 174 is in a position of repose with the presser foot 212 biased away from the character wheel 70. The interengagement of the nib 113 and an indent 111 on the rim of the anvil 72 properly indexes the selected character set of the character wheel "/0 directly above the narrow presser foot. Depression of the lever 178 by means of downward force applied against the press bar 198 causes upward movement of the presser foot against the wear plate 76 and the die 74. This forces the selected raised character 108 against the embossing 'tape 124, and into the matching female character 110 in the anvil 72. The force thus applied embosses the local area of the tape 124 then between the anvil and die into the shape of the selected character. Upon release of the lever 178 the presser foot 212 is lowered from abutment with the character wheel 70. However the foil layer of the embossing tape is permanently deformed .to retain whatever shape has been impressed onto it' (see FIG. 13).

The previous depressionand release of the press bar 198 caused the'pawl 214 and ratchet 162 to advance the 'that the guide rails 150,152 engage a different set. of vertically aligned grooves 130, 134; 132, 136.

Depression of the press bar 198 causes the forward portion of the lever 178 to press the spring wire 222 upwardly and raise its tip 228 into one of theindents in the under side of the dial 34.. This prevents rotation of the dial while a characteris being impressed. If. this safety mechanism were not incorporated into the 'embossing tool 10, rotation of the dial 34 while the presser foot 212 abutted the character wheel 70 could cause the presser foot to misalign and damage the spokes 106.

The wear plate 76 prevents accidental insertion of the presser foot 212 between any two of thespokeslOG, which situation might occur if the character wheelwere not fully seated by the engagement of a detent 111 with the nib 113. I

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent: p p 1. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape comprising:

(a) a housing having a tunnel, p (b) a carriage arranged and constructed to carry the 8 length of tape, said carriagehaving a surface with a linear sequence of areas on which letters, numbers and the like can be removably inscribed,

(c) drive means for advancing the carriage step by step by equal intervals through the tunnel, (d) said housing having a viewing aperture adjacent the'path of travel of the carriage through which the successive areas of the carriage are exposed one after another to view, whereby the carriage can be prepared'by inscribing letters, numbers and the tool willv be presented seriatirn through for observation,

(e) press assembly means mounted on the housing for impressing characters on the length of tape, said means including a character wheel having a spaced 'die and anvil between which the length of tape passes,,said die and anvil including registered sets of associated male and'female characters,.and

the aperture (f) actuating means for moving a selected portion of the die toward the anvil to emboss the tape with a selected character corresponding to the letter, numher or the like observed in the aperture.

2. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape as set forth in claim 1 wherein the. linear sequence of areas constitutes a row of outlined squares, the viewing aperture being of the same contour and dimension as any one square.

3. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape as set forth in claim 1 wherein the areas have a matte finish to facilitate the inscription of letters, numbers and the like thereon.

4. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape having an adhesive back, said tool comprising:

(a) a housing having a tunnel,

(b) a carriage including two spaced transversely aligned pillars, said pillars defining the ends of a through gap in the carriage, the marginal end .portions of the back of said length of tape adhering to the pillars so that the tape is stretched between the pillars and spans said gap to provide unobstructed access to the broad faces of the tape,

(c) drive'means for advancing the carriage step by step through the tunnel,

(0!) press assembly means mounted on the housing forimpressing characters on the length of tape, said means including a character wheel having a spaced die and anvil between which they length of tape passes, said die and anvil including registered sets of associated male and female characters, and

(e) actuating means for moving a selected portion of the die toward the anvil to emboss the tape with a selected character.

5. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape comprising:

(a) a housing having a tunnel,

(b) a carriage arranged and constructed to carry the length oftape,

(c) drive means for advancing the carriage step by step through the tunnel,

(d) press assembly means mounted on the housing for impressing characters on the lcngthof tape, said means including a rotatably mounted character Wheel having a spaced die and anvil between which the length of tape passes, said die and anvil including registered sets of associated male and female characters,

(e) actuating means for moving a selected portion of the die toward the anvil to emboss a tape with a selected character,

(f) a character selection dial rotatably mounted on the housing, a reduction gear train drivingly engaged by said dial and drivingly engaging the character wheel so that rotation of the dial rotates the character wheel in a step down ratio to bring a desired reglike one in a square which during operation of the sas -are istered set of associated male and female characters to an embossing position, the axes of rotation of the character selection dial and the character wheel being parallel and slightly displaced from one another,

(g) means for locking the dial against rotation during embossment of the tape, and

(h) means separate from said locking means indexing the character selection dial to said embossing position.

6. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape as set forth in claim wherein the dial locking means includes a circular spaced series of circumferential indents on the dial, a member mounted to enter any one indent in its path of travel, and means urging the member into said indent during energization of the actuating means.

7. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape as set forth in claim 6 wherein the actuating means includes a lever pivoted on the housing, and wherein the member rests on the lever so that oscillation of the lever lifts the member into the indent.

8. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape comprising:

(a) a housing having a tunnel,

, (b) a carriage arranged and constructed to carry the length of tape,

g. (c) drive means for advancing the carriage step by step through the tunnel,

(d) press assembly means mounted on the housing for impressing characters on the length of tape, said means including a character wheel having a spaced die and anvil between which the length of tape passes, said die having numerous spaced radial spokes each movable toward the anvil, said spokes and anvil including registered sets of associated male and female characters,

(e) actuating means for moving a selected spoke toward the anvil to emboss the tape with a selected character, said means including a presser foot mounted to force the spoke toward the die, and

( said character wheel further including a flexible wear plate interposed between the presser foot and the spokes so that the wear plate prevents the accidental ingression of the presser foot between any two adjacent spokes.

9. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape comprising:

(a) a housing having a tunnel,

(b) a carriage arranged and constructed to carry the length of tape, said carriage having a surface with a linear sequence of areas on which letters, numbers and the like can be removably inscribed,

(c) drive means for advancing the carriage step by step by equal intervals through the tunnel,

(d) said housing having a viewing aperture adjacent the path of travel of the carriage through which the successive areas of the carriage are exposed one after another to view, whereby the carriage can be prepared by inscribing letters, numbers and the like one in a square which during operation of the tool will be presented seriatim through the aperture for observation,

(e) press assembly means mounted on the housing for impressing characters on the length of tape, said press assembly means including a character wheel having a spaced die and anvil between which the length of tape passes, said die and anvil including registered sets of associated male and female characters.

(f) actuating means for moving a selected portion of the die toward'the anvil to emboss the tape with a selected character corresponding to the letter, numher or the like observed in the viewing aperture,

(g) a character selection dial rotatably mounted on the housing and drivingly engaging the character wheel so that rotation of the dial rotates the character wheel to bring a desired registered set of associated male and female characters to an embossing position, and

(11) means for displaying a character only in the center of the dial and corresponding to the character set to be embossed so that an operator of the tool may observe and compare the character displayed in the viewing aperture and the character displayed in the center of the character selection dial.

10. A tool for embossing a length of flexible tape comprising:

(a) a housing having a tunnel,

(b) a carriage arranged and constructed to carry the length of tape,

(0) drive means for advancing the carriage step by step through the tunnel,

(d) press assembly means mounted on the housing for impressing characters on the length of tape, said means including a rotatably mounted character wheel having a spaced die and anvil between which the length of tape passes, said die and anvil including registered sets of associated male and female characters,

(e) actuating means for moving a selected portion of the die toward the anvil to emboss a tape with a selected character.

(7) a character selection dial rotatably mounted on the housing and drivingly engaging the character wheel so that rotation of the dial rotates the character Wheel to bring a desired registered set of associated male and female characters to an embossing position, and

(g) means for displaying a character only in the center to the dial and corresponding to the character set to be embossed, said character display means including a viewing aperture in the center of the dial, characters corresponding to the characters set to be embossed imprinted circumferentially on the character wheel, the axes of rotation of the character selection dial and the character selection wheel being parallel and slightly displaced from one another so that the imprinted characters on the character wheel in their path of travel pass through an optical axis through the viewing aperture in the center of the dial, portions of the tool blocking the remaining characters on the character wheel from view.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TOOL FOR EMBOSSING A LENGTH OF FLEXIBLE TAPE COMPRISING: (A) A HOUSING HAVING A TUNNEL, (B) A CARRIAGE ARRANGED AND CONSTRUCTED TO CARRY THE LENGTH OF TAPE, SAID CARRIAGE HAVING A SURFACE WITH A LINEAR SEQUENCE OF AREAS ON WHICH LETTERS, NUMBERS AND THE LIKE CAN BE REMOVABLY INSCRIBED, (C) DRIVE MEANS FOR ADVANCING THE CARRIAGE STEP BY STEP BY EQUAL INTERVALS THROUGH THE TUNNEL, (D) SAID HOUSING HAVING A VIEWING APERTURE ADJACENT THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF THE CARRIAGE THROUGH WHICH THE SUCCESSIVE AREAS OF THE CARRIAGE ARE EXPOSED ONE AFTER ANOTHER TO VIEW, WHEREBY THE CARRIAGE CAN BE PREPARED BY INSCRIBING LETTERS, NUMBERS AND THE LIKE ONE IN A SQUARE WHICH DURING OPERATION OF THE TOOL WILL BE PRESENTED SERIATIM THROUGH THE APERTURE FOR OBSERVATION, (E) PRESS ASSEMBLY MEANS MOUNTED ON THE HOUSING FOR IMPRESSING CHARACTERS ON THE LENGTH OF TAPE, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A CHARACTER WHEEL HAVING A SPACED DIE AND ANVIL BETWEEN WHICH THE LENGTH OF TAPE PASSES, SAID DIE AND ANVIL INCLUDING REGISTERED SETS OF ASSOCIATED MALE AND FEMALE CHARACTERS, AND (F) ACTUATING MEANS FOR MOVING A SELECTED PORTION OF THE DIE TOWARD THE ANVIL TO EMBOSS THE TAPE WITH A SELECTED CHARACTER CORRESPONDING TO THE LETTER, NUMBER OR THE LIKE OBSERVED IN THE APERTURE. 